Cirque du Soleil鈥檚 show Corteo at Penticton鈥檚 South Okanagan Events Centre was a quirky, sometimes absurd and stunning treat for the senses that made you feel like you were witnessing a dream you didn鈥檛 want to wake up from.
The unique thing about this Cirque show is the SOEC was split in two by the stage in the middle with seating on either side. But we never felt like the performers were catering to one side over the other.
The set alone was an amazing feat, with a rotating stage, a hole in the middle that opened up to suck performers in and out, and a mini orchestra set on either side of the stage that held the drummer, singers and other instrumentals. (Cirque music is always live and always amazing).
As Cirque is so well known for, it鈥檚 a carnival atmosphere where the audience follows a dreamlike funeral procession of an Italian clown who is watched over by floating angels.
It was the ridiculous with the flawless magic of the skilled performers who defy human physics with their high-flying flipping and hanging in the air that left the audience spellbound.
The show opened up with elegant and enormous chandeliers, which were used in a beautiful aerial act.
Next up, I will never look at bouncing on beds the same way after seeing this performance. Beds became trampolines as acrobats flipped and jumped from bed to bed.
By far the highlight of the show was when a women holding onto giant balloons floated over the audience. She encouraged audience members to push her feet along as she rose and fell great heights, while talking to the crowd.
Another high point was when a performer used a high ladder to climb all the way to the top rung to give a flower to one of the angels. He moved around the stage and even flipped off of it while the audience held its collective breath.
In fact, there were several aerial acts that had us holding our breath and saying 鈥榳ow鈥� out loud numerous times.
Another wow moment was when the circus ringmaster whistled a song so beautiful, I did a double take because it sounded more like a bird than a human. The song gave me goosebumps.
Spoiler: The show ends with the clown bicycling off to heaven wearing his angel wings.
Signs everywhere in the SOEC said no flash photography allowed. A byproduct of this warning was that people actually watched IRL (in real life) instead of filming the whole mesmerizing show.
The show stayed in Penticton from Jan. 4 to 7. There is one more show on Sunday, (today) at 5 p.m. There still may be tickets so if there are, treat yourself to this unique opportunity. Tickets for Cirque in Las Vegas and DisneyWorld fetch for over $200 US.
How lucky are we to have Cirque de Soleil come to Penticton, especially with the quality of a show like Corteo was. I鈥檓 still spellbound.
